After power grab, critics wonder if Morsy is Egypt's next strongman

By the CNN Wire Staff

Updated 1101 GMT (1901 HKT) November 27, 2012

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest presidential powers – A street vendor grills corn as Egyptian soldiers stand guard at the Presidential Palace on Tuesday, December 18, in Cairo. Protesters opposed to President Mohamed Morsy's first round of voting in the constitutional referendum gather during continuing demonstrations.

Hide Caption

1 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest presidential powers – Protesters chant slogans during a demonstration at the Presidential Palace on December 18 in Cairo.

Hide Caption

2 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest presidential powers – An Egyptian woman types on her laptop before the start of a demonstration opposing President Mohamed Morsy on December 18 in Cairo.

Hide Caption

3 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest presidential powers – People make their way through a market place on Monday, December 17, in Cairo.

Hide Caption

4 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest presidential powers – A supporter of Egypt's President Mohamed Morsy and the Muslim Brotherhood holds Quran as he shouts during a demonstration in Cairo on Friday, December 14.

Hide Caption

5 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest presidential powers – Women pray during a demonstration in support of President Mohamed Morsy in Cairo on December 14.

Hide Caption

6 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest presidential powers – Egyptian army tanks are deployed outside the presidential palace in Cairo on Thursday, December 13. Egypt's crisis showed no sign of easing as the army delayed unity talks meant to ease political divisions and the opposition set near-impossible demands for taking part in a looming constitutional referendum.

Hide Caption

7 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest presidential powers – Girls walk with Egypt's national flag draped over their backs to a rally for supporters of President Mohamed Morsy in Cairo on Tuesday, December 11.

Hide Caption

8 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest presidential powers – Protesters on December 11 attempt to bring down cement walls that security forces placed around the presidential palace in Cairo.

Hide Caption

9 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest presidential powers – Security forces stand guard in front of the presidential palace in Cairo on December 11.

Hide Caption

10 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest presidential powers – Protesters opposed to Egypt's president demonstrate on top of a barricade erected by the Egyptian army to protect the presidential palace in Cairo on December 11.

Hide Caption

11 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest presidential powers – A young protester climbs atop a barricade erected by the Egyptian army on December 11. There were no incidents of violence and soldiers held the line as a couple of hundred protesters pressed up against waist-high crowd barriers.

Hide Caption

12 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest presidential powers – Protesters remove part of a metal barrier protecting the presidential palace on December 11.

Hide Caption

13 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest presidential powers – Egyptian army troops stand guard in front of a metal barricade on December 11.

Hide Caption

14 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest presidential powers – An Egyptian army soldier patrols outside the Egyptian presidential palace on Monday, December 10, in Cairo. The Egyptian political crisis erupted last month when President Mohamed Morsy issued an edict allowing himself to run the country unchecked until the drafting of a new constitution.

Hide Caption

15 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest presidential powers – Members of the Egyptian opposition gather for a protest outside the presidential palace on Sunday, December 9, in Cairo. The palace has been the scene of violent clashes pitting thousands of protesters -- for and against Morsy.

Hide Caption

16 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest presidential powers – Guy Fawkes masks are displayed by a street vendor in front of the Egyptian presidential palace in Cairo on December 9. The masks depict Fawkes, a rebel executed in England's Gunpowder Plot seeking to blow up the House of Lords in the early 1600s.

Hide Caption

17 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest presidential powers – Egyptian army engineers and soldiers build a third line of concrete blocks outside of the Egyptian presidential palace in Cairo in preparation for more protests on December 9.

Hide Caption

18 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest presidential powers – An Egyptian protester sweeps the street near army tanks deployed outside the presidential palace in Cairo on December 8, after continued protests overnight.

Hide Caption

19 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – A sticker depicting Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy reads "leave" on the ground near the presidential palace on December 8.

Hide Caption

20 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Egyptian soldiers take position on a road leading to the presidential palace on December 8.

Hide Caption

21 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – A protester tries to climb over a barbed-wire fence as Egyptian soldiers stand guard during a demonstration near the presidential palace in Cairo on Friday, December 7.

Hide Caption

22 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Supporters of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy and members of the Muslim Brotherhood shout during the funerals of fellow Morsy supporters at Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo on December 7.

Hide Caption

23 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Protesters angry over Morsy's decisions giving himself unchecked powers surround the Muslim Brotherhood's headquarters in Cairo after starting a fire inside the compound on Thursday, December 6.

Hide Caption

24 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Riot police form a line as anti-Morsy protesters surge around the Muslim Brotherhood's headquarters in Cairo on December 6.

Hide Caption

25 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – An anti-Morsy protester shouts during a march to the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, on December 6.

Hide Caption

26 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Protesters are blocked from approaching the the presidential palace by the Egyptian army on December 6 in Cairo.

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Members of the Muslim Brotherhood and Morsy supporters destroy tents of anti-Morsy protesters outside the presidential palace on December 5.

Hide Caption

30 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Morsy supporters carry an injured man to safety during clashes with anti-Morsy demonstrators on a road leading to the Egyptian presidential palace on December 5.

Hide Caption

31 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Members of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of Morsy clash with anti-Morsy demonstrators on a road leading to the Egyptian presidential palace on December 5.

Hide Caption

32 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Egyptian riot police stand behind barbwire as thousands of Egyptian demonstrators march to the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, on Tuesday, December 4.

Hide Caption

33 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Tens of thousands of demonstrators encircled the presidential palace in Cairo after riot police failed to keep them at bay with tear gas on December 4.

Hide Caption

34 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – An Egyptian woman waves a national flag as demonstrators march to the presidential palace in Cairo on December 4.

Hide Caption

35 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – A Morsy supporter waves a flag outside the Supreme Constitutional Court as hundreds of supporters of the president protest on Sunday, December 2, in Cairo, forcing judges to postpone a hearing on a constitutional panel at the heart of a deepening political crisis.

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – A man kisses a portrait of Morsy during a gathering of thousands of Islamists in front of Cairo University on Saturday, December 1.

Hide Caption

38 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Thousands pray during a rally in support of Morsy in front of Cairo University on December 1.

Hide Caption

39 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – An Egyptian man delivers a speech as protesters gather in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday, November 30.

Hide Caption

40 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – A man shouts as protesters gather in Tahrir Square on November 30.

Hide Caption

41 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – A man holds a copy of the Quran and a cross in Tahrir Square on November 30.

Hide Caption

42 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Protesters run from Egyptian riot police during clashes near Cairo's Tahrir Square on Wednesday, November 28.

Hide Caption

43 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – A protester carries a rock during clashes with police on Wednesday.

Hide Caption

44 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Egyptians carry a giant national flag as tens of thousands take part in a mass rally in Cairo on Tuesday, November 27, against a decree by President Mohamed Morsy granting himself broad powers.

Hide Caption

45 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – An Egyptian protester holds up a Quran and a figure of Christ on the cross during Tuesday's demonstration.

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – An Egyptian protester attempts to throw back a tear gas canister on Tuesday during clashes with riot police in Omar Makram Street, off Tahrir Square.

Hide Caption

48 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Activists in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Monday, November 26, carry the coffin of Gaber Salah, an activist who died overnight after he was critically injured in clashes in Cairo. Salah, a member of the April 6 movement known by his nickname "Jika," was injured last week during confrontations between police and protesters on Cairo's Mohammed Mahmud street.

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Protesters clash with Egyptian police at Simon Bolivar Square on Sunday, November 25, in Cairo. Egypt's powerful Muslim Brotherhood called nationwide demonstrations in support of Islamist President Mohamed Morsy in his showdown with the judges over the path to a new constitution.

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy waves to supporters in front of the presidential palace in Cairo on Friday, November 23. Thousands of ecstatic supporters gathered outside the presidential palace to defend their leader against accusations from rival protesters that he has become a dictator.

Hide Caption

54 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Morsy supporters gather outside the presidential palace in Cairo on Friday. Morsy insisted that Egypt was on the path to "freedom and democracy," as protesters held rival rallies over sweeping powers he assumed that further polarized the country's political forces.

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Egyptian supporters and opponents of Morsy clash in the coastal city of Alexandria on Friday.

Hide Caption

58 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – A man throws a rock during clashes in Alexandria on Friday.

Hide Caption

59 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Thousands of demonstrators march through the streets of Cairo to protest against Morsy on Friday.

Hide Caption

60 of 61

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Clashes rocked the coastal city of Alexandria on Friday.

Hide Caption

61 of 61

Story highlights

A foe says Morsy's amassing of powers "can only lead to a dictatorship"

A Morsy backer says the president has "overwhelming" support from Egyptians

The president's order makes his decisions immune from judicial oversight

Many courts close in protest, and there are concerns about the economic impact

The sun rises over Cairo, and the city's landmark Tahrir Square is buzzing. Not with traffic, not with commerce, but with protest -- a tent city packed with people rife with anger at a man they blast as a dictatorial president, one who put amassing power for himself and his supporters over the good of his country.

Weren't things in Egypt supposed to be different now?

No longer railing against Hosni Mubarak, who was forced out amid popular unrest, demonstrators now direct their anger at the first man since Mubarak to be the North African nation's president.

Other things aren't much different than in January 2011: Egypt's economy is still staggering, police have clashed with protesters, and the political future is uncertain. What remains to be seen is whether those who decry Mohamed Morsy as "the new pharaoh" will manage to oust him from power, as happened to Mubarak.

In a country without a constitution, Morsy already has the powers of both a president and a legislature after the elected parliament was dissolved.

Walking through the Cairo protests

Just Watched

Anger over Morsy power grab

But it was his edict last Thursday -- declaring that Egypt's courts cannot overturn decisions he's made since coming to office in June or over the next six months, nor can they alter the makeup or work of the 100-person group charged with crafting a new constitution -- that prompted his opponents to take to the streets.

Morsy insists he's trying to protect Egypt's fragile Arab Spring revolution, not accumulate unchecked power. His moves "cemented the process that would create the institutions that would limit his power, define the constitution and have parliamentary elections so that we can say this is a democracy," said Jihad Haddad, a senior adviser in the Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood.

But that's not how his political foes -- whom many members of the Brotherhood, a once-banned Islamist movement that Morsy led, see as "heretics," according to Washington Institute for Near East Policy fellow Eric Trager -- look at the situation.

Former U.S. diplomat Jamie Rubin said Morsy's edict "brings to mind all the fears that people in that part of the world have had about the Muslim Brotherhood when it comes to democracy."

Amr Hamzawy, who'd been in the now dissolved parliament, said action is needed to prevent more "suffering" under a president with "sweeping powers," as Egypt had for 60 years under men like Mubarak, Anwar Sadat and Gamal Nasser.

"Morsy is the ... president who has sweeping executive (power), sweeping legislative (power) and ... puts himself above the judicial branch of government," said Hamzawy, founder of Egypt's Freedom Party. "That is a very dangerous mix, which can only lead to a dictatorship."

Intent on not letting that happen, people around the country have staged protests and stormed Muslim Brotherhood offices over the past six days -- sometimes with violent results, with hundreds being reported injured and one killed in confrontations with security forces and Morsy's backers.

Tuesday has been forecast as the opposition's biggest show of force yet, with major rallies set for Cairo and elsewhere around Egypt. It's a chance to show, as former Finance Minister Samir Radwan said to CNN, that "the whole population of Egypt is against" Morsy and his supporters.

On Monday, the Muslim Brotherhood scrapped its own million-man counterprotest "to avoid any problems due to tension in the political arena," said spokesman Mahmoud Ghozlan. State TV announced the demonstrations were called off "to avoid bloodshed."

Whomever one believes, and whatever most Egyptians think, there's been little indication that either side will back down. And the longer the tension persists, the more chance it will have a negative impact on the country.

In response to what he described as "the most vicious ... attack on the judicial authority's independence" ever, only seven of Egypt's 34 courts are still operating and 90% of its prosecutors have gone on strike, said Judge Mohamed al-Zind of the Egyptian Judge's Club.

On Monday, Morsy met with members of Egypt's highest judicial body, the Supreme Judicial Council, which has been critical of his edict.

Afterward, Haddad said the decree was "clarified" -- not overturned or altered -- to reflect that Morsy "did not give himself judicial power" but did provide "immunity for his presidential decisions." He added "the president himself (is) not immune from judicial oversight," though it wasn't clear in what instances or if there was anything preventing Morsy from issuing a new decree so this could not happen.

Beyond the judiciary, there are concerns about how fresh popular unrest will affect an already-fragile economy, where about 25% live in poverty, and stock market values plunged after Morsy's announcement.

"The majority of the people are really suffering, and they were looking forward to some stability," said Radwan, who served under Mubarak as well as in the government that followed him. "I'm afraid that this constitutional declaration has blown it up."

The next few days and weeks could produce more stalemate, more violence or more uncertainty. But experts say, even if things remain peaceful, how the country's new constitution takes shape may prove critical to its future.

There has also been growing turmoil about the constitutional panel, pitting conservatives who want Egypt to be governed by Islam's Sharia law against moderates and liberals who are making it a higher priority to ensure basic freedoms, including for women.

With the Muslim Brotherhood's increasing hold on power, non-Islamists may increasingly walk away from that process, leaving the path open to a constitution embracing the Brotherhood's view of an Islamic state in Egypt, according to Trager.

"By the time you get that new constitution, it will have been written by an Islamist-dominated assembly that all non-Islamists have completely abandoned, and the new parliamentary elections will likely exclude members of the former ruling party who posed the greatest threat to his authority," he said.